


All Bets Are Off

by zendayamareesjuliet



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-10 05:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zendayamareesjuliet/pseuds/zendayamareesjuliet
Summary: Ned bets Peter he won't be able to last in a month-long relationship with Michelle Jones, the most intimidating girl on campus.





	1. You're on

**Author's Note:**

> This is a college AU spideychelle story! And my first time writing a story on here so I really hope you like!

Ned and Peter have been best friends since…since the beginning of time. Before they started attending the same college, MIT let’s go! Before they went to high school at Midtown’s school of Science and Technology. And even before they went to middle and elementary school. So, their friendship... a pretty big deal. 

They do everything together. From joining the decathlon team in high school to majoring in engineering and joining robotics club together. It’s just kind of their thing. 

Peter grabs his sandwich from one of the lines in the campus’ cafeteria, walking immediately to his and Ned’s table by the window. It had a nice view of the center of campus. The best place to people watch. Plus, natural lighting and all that. 

Things they’ve noticed about people: most of them are always in a hurry to wherever they’re going. Not many of the students stop to chat anymore, even if they’re with friends. 

Another thing they’ve noticed: Michelle Jones was scary. They’ve known of her since high school, but she never talked much. Not unless it was to say some random flat-toned note of sarcasm that teetered the line between dark humor and just dark. 

Michelle had always kind of scared Peter. He’s not a wuss or anything! She had this way of being so quiet that whenever she said something the entire room would just go silent. The girl was also always by herself, he noticed. She never talked to anyone, not even in some of the classes they shared. Or Ned and Peter for that matter and she’s known them for over 4 years now. 

“Dude, class was so weird today!” Ned started off as he finally joined Peter at their table, two slices of pizza on his tray. Peter looked up from his sandwich, ready to hear whatever it was that he had to say. 

“What? What happened?” Peter asked after putting his sandwich down. 

“Dude so the professor was talking about feminism in the country and this student is like ‘feminism is supposed to be about equality but taking from males isn’t equal’ and Michelle actually stood up and went over to the kid poured her tea over his head and walked out the class. It was e p i c!” Ned was laughing so hard Peter thought he would fall out of his own chair. 

Peter was just shocked. He really couldn’t believe she’d do something like that. Well, he could… she’s scary. “She really did that? I mean… the guy deserved it but still…” 

Ned shook his head. “I’d hate to be the person that ends up with her.” He commented before he lifted a slice into his mouth. 

Peter shrugged while he finished off a bite from his sandwich. “She can’t be that bad.” As much as she scared him, he always tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Even if he didn’t actually believe what he said. 

“What are you talking about?” Ned could always see past Peter’s lies. “You’re scared of her the most!” 

“I’m not-“ His voice started off higher than he expected. He cleared it and glanced around the cafeteria as if there were other people listening on their conversation. “I’m not scared of her.”

“Yes, you are, dude. You haven’t said a word to her since we were in high school together.” 

“Well tha- that’s just because you know…she’s- she’s uh…” Peter raised his hand up, coming up empty while trying to think of a valid excuse. 

“Scary. She’s scary. Just admit it.” 

Peter lifted his sandwich to give himself more time before having to answer. Ned already knew what Peter was trying to do.

Stall. 

“Michelle scares you and you’re too afraid to talk to her.” He stated while wiping his hands together to dust off the crumbs from the pizza. 

“I’m not afraid of anyone! I’m not afraid of her, Ned, I’m not!”

“Oh, really? I bet you 20 bucks you won’t go up and talk to her.” 

“What? That’s not even worth it.” 

Ned then took out a few bills equaling up to a fifty and set it in the middle of themselves. “Fine, I bet you 50 bucks you won’t ask her out _and_ you wouldn’t be able to last a month with her.” He wasn’t worried about his money. There was no way Peter would ever be able to ask anyone out, let alone Michelle. 

“That’s ridiculous! Are you really trying to dare me to date a girl right now?” Peter asked, his voice lowering and leaning in closer so nearby tables won’t hear him. 

“A deal’s a deal man. It’s my best offer.” Ned played along, shrugging as he finished off his slice of pizza. It was clear his friend was in a bit of turmoil with himself. Frantic Peter was always entertaining to Ned. 

“Dude, you can’t be serious…” Peter responded back, gulping. He seriously didn’t know what to do. 

“Offer expires in 3…”

Normally he wouldn’t but he didn’t want Ned thinking he was some kind of loser for being scared of a person.  
“…2…”

Especially Michelle who in his perspective is a perfectly reasonable person to be afraid of. And with fifty bucks he could finally buy that Xbox game he’d been dying to get his hands on.

“…1…”

“OKAY! O-Okay.” He let out a breath. “I’ll do it but seriously, dude, fifty bucks AND you have to stop saying that I’m afraid of her.” He raised an eyebrow then put his hand forward.

Ned really wasn’t expecting Peter to agree to it in the first place, but he still didn’t think he could possibly make it a month in a relationship with her. Not a chance. Easy money and he gets to keep teasing his best friend? Sounds like the best deal if he’s ever heard one. “Alright, you’re on.” Ned extended his hand to meet Peter’s, then quickly they both moved into doing their handshake as if to seal the deal.


	2. Don't Be Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me a lot longer than I thought. The first chapter I uploaded while on vacation and then the week was over pretty fast and had to go back to work. BUT now I should have a few weeks to focus on writing and you all should get updates regularly (I'm trying to make it weekly but we'll see how it goes!

Peter finds himself pacing in the apartment styled dorm room he and Ned share. He’s lucky Ned has early classes this semester. There’s no way he wanted him to see the mess he was that next morning after their bet.

How could he let himself get roped into something as trivial and juvenile as this? He replayed that lunch over and over in his head. This was just too crazy. There was no way he could ever, in a million years, ask Michelle Jones out. He would end up worse off than that kid she dumped her drink on. And to make matters worse, he shared his very first class of the day with her.

Peter’s never in the history of his life, **ever** asked out a girl. I mean there were those few times he’d been on what most people wouldn’t even call “dates”, but he’s never initiated it. To be specific there were five times.

Mary Jane Watson, elementary school, 5th grade

Peter’s _first_ notable crush. She was super sweet and kind to everyone. Especially to Peter when he was put in a class without Ned for the first time. He didn’t want to admit how much he’d missed having his best friend by his side every second of the day.

She was nice to Peter. Especially when Peter had started crying their first day of school when he realized he and Ned didn’t have the same recess period and won’t be able to see each other after lunch. The only time in school they did have together. She sat next to him and held his hand (before Peter would eventually learn that this gave him cooties).

She was especially nice to Peter when people tried to pick on him for being a “crybaby”. Mary Jane then proceeded to call them all “buttheads” and said she would tell their teacher if they didn’t leave him alone. In fifth grade, that’s like the equivalent to kicking someone’s butt.

Okay, no, it really isn’t but it felt like that to Peter. The kids left him alone, mostly afraid Mary Jane would be a tattle and they’d get in trouble. After that day, Mary Jane ate lunch with him and Ned every day, played with Peter during recess every day, and would eventually ask him to come play outside with her after school.

His first “date”.

Gwen Stacy, middle school, 8th grade.

She was a really super nice girl. Had a bit of spunk to her that Peter had completely gone gooey over. She was his first **real** crush. Though he was only in eighth grade, it seemed that a lot of his classmates were way more experienced than he was. A lot more. Where did kids learn to make out and _cuddle_ at 13/14 years old?

Anyway, Peter had a crush on Gwen. And Gwen had a crush on Peter too. But neither of them was confident enough to actually make the first move. So, with a little push from Ned, he managed to get the two to come with him to their first girl and boy party.

**_Scandalous!_ **

For Peter.

If you asked Ned, this should’ve happened last year.

The “party” was really just 4 other students from their class gathered in this one girl, Kitty’s, basement. They sat in a circle and played truth or dare first. Ned was bold. He always chose dares. They weren’t that bad though. Most of the time it was something simple like, go lick that person’s hand or go mix together all these soft drinks and down the whole cup. Peter, on the other hand, was terrified of getting a dare he didn’t want to do so he always chose truth. He would quickly learn that this, too, was a mistake. They asked him if he had a crush on anyone and by the truth or dare rules, he had to tell the truth. And so, he did…he admitted that he had a crush on someone. _Someone_. He wouldn’t give up who it was. Though it was obvious to just about everyone who this person was. And just when Peter thought that would be the worst of his troubles, Ned had to suggest they play 7 minutes in heaven. It’s easy to tell where this story is headed, right?

Peter spun his bottle and it landed on Gwen. Needless to say, Peter freaked out. He pretended as if he had a phone call from his Aunt May saying that she was coming to pick him up and ran from the party as quickly as he could.

That was the last time he could bear to look at Gwen.

Felicia Hardy, high school, 9th grade

Felicia was the last girl Peter ever thought he would end up liking. She was feisty, headstrong, extremely outgoing. Not that those were traits he didn’t enjoy, but she was just so…

and then he was just so…

it just surprised him.

Another thing that surprised him was when Felicia came up to peter during gym and with no warning whatsoever asked him out in front of the entire class. He was, for a lack of better words, flustered. What he didn’t know at the time though, was that this was just a stunt to make another boy in their class, Johnny, jealous. She didn’t _actually_ like him. They never went on dates, just hang out together during school. She’d only hold his hand when other people were around and would only kiss his cheek when Brad was around. It didn’t take more than a couple of weeks before Felicia got what she wanted and ghosted him.

Peter was more relieved than heartbroken over the matter. He wasn’t so comfortable with her aggressive PDA.

Liz Toomes, high school, 10th-11th grade

Liz… Liz was one of the smartest girls in the school. Even though she was a year older than him, he’d really grown to like her for her personality, her intellect, and her beauty. She was a genius: captain of the decathlon team and kind: most popular girl in school. At first, Peter began by fantasizing about her from far away. Not in a creepy way or anything. More like a this is what our first date would be like, it’d be so nice to hold your hand kind of way.

After Peter joined the decathlon team (Aunt May and his counselor pushed him to join clubs for college applications) they became friends. Though Peter had never made it known to anyone that he really liked her. Ned was the one to encourage the group to go out to the movies during weekends or go bowling, skating, some kind of activity to get the two to hang out. That was the closest he’d ever gotten to go on a date with Liz. He’d never gained the courage to tell her how he felt even after she graduated and moved away.

But now, he was bound by a bet to ask someone out and so he had to. What other choice did he have? Peter faced the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t decide between fake messy hair, nice slicked back hair, or actually messy. Concerns he’s never really thought about before.

“Will you…” he started out as he stared at himself in the reflection. Too much pressure. He thought to himself. Walking away from the mirror he went to his drawers and pulled out some different outfit choices. “Hey, Michelle!” he said out loud, off to a good start. “Do you wanna hang out sometime?” His voice slightly wavered as he slipped a shirt over his head. That sounded too unsure.

“Sup, Michelle!” he tried again while stepping into the pair of jeans he’d grabbed. “What do you say we go out sometime?” he nearly fell over, while trying to get his other leg into the pants hole. “yeah, yeah, I know.” He spoke out to no one in particular, the universe.

“Uhm…” he gave himself a once over in the full-length mirror then went to add on a spray of cologne. “Michelle… I-” Why can’t he just get the stupid words out? He grumbled in frustration before finally falling into his bed, back first. “I’m so gonna lose this thing.”

* * *

Peter and Ned were both in their second semester of being freshmen. They were now pretty used to the way college runs. The first week of classes (depending on your major) the professors went easy on everyone. Syllabus week they called it. All you had to do was show up and the professor would go over what’s expected of the class. Sometimes they would finish early and immediately start off teaching, other times they would let you out and you won’t have to actually start classes until the next day.

Once the first week was over, they seemed to whiplash right into full college mode. Which unfortunately for him, was the week they’ve just come to. Still, it’s a lot better than the first time they had finals week.

He walked into the undergrad required communications class he shared with Michelle. He wanted to walk to his usual seat, in the fourth row, the second column (in the middle and towards the far right of the class) while Michelle sits in the second row third column (towards the front of the class smack in the middle), but he didn’t. With this being one of the few classes they shared he figured if he was going to ask her out, he should sit close to her…right?

Clutching his books to his chest Peter stood by the doorway, frozen in his spot. He couldn’t bring himself to move…at all. His brain was firing a million times faster than normal, trying to figure out where to sit. On the one hand, he’s got a bet to uphold and plus he really likes his usual seat. On the other hand, everyone’s already chosen the spots they were going to sit in for the semester. Never mind the two-week grace period for the students who didn’t show up the first two days because Syllabus week is a waste of everyone’s time. It doesn’t count! It’s an unwritten rule you stay seated where you were last time!

“Mr. Parker, please find your seat.” The professor voiced as he walked in behind him heading straight for his desk. Not everyone in the room looked up, but most of the students did…including Michelle. He could feel his muscles moving, bringing him to a spot, but he wasn’t very aware of the decision he was making.

As he walked closer and closer to Michelle’s seat, her gaze sharp and focused on his, he panicked and instead of sitting next to her, he sprung for the spot behind her. His books practically slamming on the desk. Peter gulps and runs a hand through his hair nervously, sending an apologetic look to the professor.

Honestly, it was probably all in Peter’s head because the professor just carried on with the beginning of the class. “Welcome back, good to see some new faces with us this morning. For those of you who don’t know already, I am Professor Stark. Last week we went over the syllabus, I’m guessing which is why some of you are unfamiliar faces.” The professor paced around the room, holding up a stack of stapled papers then puts it down on the desk. “If you weren’t here last week, these are for you. You’ve got an important semester-long project you’ll be working on. Which we’ll be picking partners for at the end of class after I tell you all about it. Any questions so far?”

There was a brief pause for him to answer questions before he went to his laptop to pull up the powerpoint that had all the information about the project. “You’ll be picking partners and you’ll each have to pick a topic, preferably your major. You’ll explain what the major is, why you chose it, and what you plan to do with it when you graduate.” He looks at the students in the classroom over his glasses. “For those of you who are undecided, don’t worry about it, either pick a random major, a major you’re considering or just do the same one your partner is using.”

He cleared his throat now walking back to the front of the class. “Now, I know what you’re thinking.” Professor Stark pulls his chair out and sits on it, leaning back with a leg crossed over the other. “Why do we need partners for this? Group projects suck. Yeah, trust me, I know.” He then stopped and took a look at all the students, his face unreadable. “Well, it’s mandatory to have group projects and since we’ll already be having weekly ‘seminars’ with you guys engaging in a class discussion, I figured I’d make it easy on you kids.”

The rest of the class time went by in a blur to Peter. Mostly because he was still trying to figure out how to ask Michelle out. At first, he thought hey just ask her to be your class partner and boom! An easy way in. Then the afterthought came. He only needs to prove to Ned he could be with her for a month before he has to break things off with her. They’d still have about two months of the semester left and that would make for a very awkward group project.

His thoughts were interrupted when Professor Stark called attention to the class. He told them to pick their partners, let him know who you are then we could leave for the day. Again, Peter’s mind went into hyperdrive trying to decide what his best option was. The other students were picking classmates pretty quickly (since most of them were friends already).

“Hey.” He heard a voice from in front of him call out to him. He looked forward to Michelle turned around in her chair. “Do you want like be partners or something?” She asked him. Peter stared at her with wide-opened eyes, trying to force words to leave his mouth.

She reached a hand up and snapped her fingers in his face. “Earth to loser. Do you want to be project partners or not?”

Peter reaches a hand back to scratch his head. “Uh, yeah, sure, yeah, sure.”

Michelle narrowed her eyes at him then stood up, slipping her bag over her shoulder. “Okay…” She started off then stared at him with a blank expression for a few more seconds. “Are you gonna like give me your phone number?”

“Oh, right!” He clears his throat then takes out his phone, opening up to the contact page then handing it up to her. When she grabs the phone to put her number in, she passes him her phone to put his number in. After he finishes, he stands up with her and goes to their professor’s desk. “uh, Professor Stark? Michelle and I would like to be uh… partners for this project, please.” He nods and makes some markings on his notebook by their names.

The two walk out the classroom with Peter gripping his bookbag sleeve over his shoulder. “Uh… so do you want to like meet up later tonight to-”

“MJ.” Michelle says flatly while stopping after they’ve walked a bit away from the door.

“What?” Peter asks, looking at her confused.

“Call me MJ. 7:30pm, Hayden library. Don’t be late.” She states then walks away from him without another word.

Peter stares as she walks off, gulping as he reaches a nervous hand up to his hair. This definitely wasn’t going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Will Peter ask MJ out or will he chicken out?? I'd like to see what you all think he'll do! Comment your guess :)


End file.
